Hot/Cold Beverage Dispenser and Method

Abstract

A beverage dispenser for dispensing either a hot or cold beverage, for example tea, from a common mixing chamber and a method for making and/or operating the same is disclosed. The dispense has a source of hot water, usually a heater, and a source of water, a refrigeration system to cool the water and one or more sources of flavor. The hot or cold water, or both can be provided to the common or same, mixing chamber and mixed assisted with a static and/or dynamic mixer and then dispensed. The last portion of the water is used to rinse for the next beverage. Flavor or syrup pump current is sensed to provide the appropriate amount of flavor concentrate to a known quantity of water to form a beverage of appropriate strength or syrup.

Description

[0001]This application is a United States Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Application, claiming the benefit and filing date of U.S. Provisional Application, Ser. No. 61 / 465,811, filed Mar. 23, 2011 of the same title, to which some new material has been added, and relates to a beverage dispenser, and methods therefore, and more particularly to a dispenser for dispensing one or more of both hot and cold beverages, and / or utilizes a common mixer to mix the ingredients, one of which is usually hot or cold water and the other one or more flavor concentrates, either statically or dynamically, and / or utilizes one or more peristaltic or other type displacement pumps to deliver the one or more flavor concentrates in desired amounts to a known quantity of the other ingredient (usually hot or cold water) to establish the desired Brix of the beverage. The invention uses pump motor current to determine flavor delivery to control Brix.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Heretofore, it is known to ha...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0022]The hot water is supplied for the dispenser by a vented to atmosphere hot water heater, so no pressure or boiler requirements need be met. The heater has an electric heating element, is higher than the mixing chamber and utilizes the top couple of inches of the heater tank for discharge to the mixing chamber solely by gravity. By taking the hot water from the top of the heater additional energy is made available for mixing due to the greater height of fall. Replacement water is brought into the bottom at of the heater and heated as it moves upwardly in the heater, where it can then be discharged as needed. Thus, the heater can provide a considerable number of hot drinks, as the cold water is not put into the top but at the bottom of the heater, wherein it can be considerably heated before it is discharged. A three electrical probe (+ or − terminals) that are part of water level control and used to admit additional water into the heater as it is drawn off for beverages. The electrical probes sense filled (+) at top, common (−) lowest height) and low level (mid height (+)).

Problems solved by technology

However it is not known to deliver either hot or cold water into a common chamber to form with the appropriate selected flavor concentrate either a hot or cold beverage.

Generally merely adding the flavor itself was insufficient, and it was necessary to mix the two or more ingredients together.

Images